Friday, December 3, 2010

3rd December International Day of Persons With Disability

International Day of Persons with Disability is celebrated worldwide and aims to promote a positive image of people with disability and showcase their skills, abilities, contributions and achievements. With young children such as the ones I teach it is important that they see that children with disabilities are more like them, than different from them, and four picture books that stress this, and in the process show their main characters positively are:

* Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross

* Dan and Diesel by Charlotte Hudson and Lindsey Gardiner

The added bonus with both of these books is that the reader doesn't know Susan and Dan are disabled until the very end. Susan is in a wheelchair and Dan is blind.

* Arabella by Wendy Orr and Kim Gamble

* Seal Surfer by Michael Foreman

Both of these books are about young boys and their grandfathers. In each the boy is eager to assert his independence and manages to do so, one through sailing alone and the other surfing. Both have beautiful illustrations and plenty of drama so they make for good discussions about risktaking.

About Me

I'm a teacher/librarian in an early childhood school library. The library caters for 3-8 year old children, their teachers and their parents.
My aim here is to showcase at least one book each day until there is ' a year in a Prep School Library'. Usually the date will be the birthday of someone who is connected with Children's Literature.
I have met my initial challenge to write about a book every day, so now I write much more intermittently when I have learned of a new birthday, special day, have had a wonderful teaching moment or have found a great new book.